The Dental Surgery

In 1897 Arthur Stewart Lucadou-Wells set up a dental practice in rented premises in Wilson Street, Burnie.  He was the eldest of seven sons of a respected dental surgeon in Launceston, Arthur Lucadou-Wells, who had emigrated from Worcester, England, in 1879. 

The Lucadou-Wells brothers all followed in their father’s footsteps and all practised dentistry. They had surgeries, both permanent and travelling, and provided a dental service that covered much of Tasmania.  Some of the Lucadou-Wells brothers practised dentistry until the 1950s. They were known for their humanitarian approach and never refused a patient treatment day or night.

Although the Lucadou-Wells brothers were kind and caring, a trip to the dentist in those days was still a very unpleasant experience. A patient often suffered the agonies of the slow, grinding pedal drill for more than an hour.

Arthur’s brother Algernon Lucadou-Wells was based in Wynyard but his practice extended as far as Stanley. He is said to have carried his pedal drill on the back of his bicycle regularly tending to the needs of his out-of-town patients.  Sometimes he cycled as far as 80 km to Circular Head across the Sisters Hills, an arduous journey on the windy, steep, rough unsealed roads of the day.